Christmas Weather for Northern Illinois: Statistics for Chicago and Rockford

Chicago:

The following statistics comprises 145 years of data, however snowfall data began in 1885, so it is composed of 132 years of data. Data collection began at the University of Chicago, then at Midway, and currently at O'Hare which is now the official station for Chicago.

To see the daily climate data for Chicago for Christmas from 1871-Present,click here.

Frequency distribution of high temperatures for Chicago. This dataset shows that the most frequent range of high temperatures on Christmas is in between 30 and 39 degrees. The normal high for Christmas at Chicago is 32 degrees, which falls in the most frequent range. The highest temperature recorded on Christmas is 64 degrees set in 1982. The coldest high temperature on Christmas is -5 degrees which occurred in 1983. In 2016, the high temperature was 39 degrees.

Frequency distribution of low temperatures for Chicago. This dataset shows that the most frequent range of low temperatures on Christmas is in between 20 and 29 degrees. The normal low temperature on Christmas in Chicago is 18 degrees. The lowest temperature recorded on Christmas is -17 degrees which occurred in 1983. The highest low temperature for Christmas was 46 degrees in 1936. In 2016, the low temperature was 32 degrees.

Frequency distribution of precipitation for Chicago. This dataset shows that the most frequent amount of precipitation recorded on Christmas is 0.00”, which accounts for 38% of the days in the dataset. The next most frequent range is 0.02” to 0.25". The highest amount of precipitation on Christmas occurred in 1909 and 1950 when 0.50” of precipitation fell. There has never been an instance where over an inch of precipitation fell on Christmas. In 2016, 0.09" of precipitation fell.

Frequency distribution of snowfall for Chicago. This dataset shows that the most frequent amount of snowfall recorded on Christmas is 0.0”, which accounts for 46% of the days in the dataset. The next most frequent range is a Trace through 0.9". The highest amount of snowfall recorded on Christmas occurred in 1950 when 5.1” of snow fell. In 2016, no snow fell.